"Controlled nuclear fusion has been stable for an hour; we might have succeeded!" Some reporters couldn’t help but release the news, sparking cheers and celebrations among the people.
"Has controlled nuclear fusion nearly succeeded?" Xuanwu Executives also stopped their tasks to watch.
They hadn’t had a chance to celebrate when an accident occurred.
The AI system warned: "Warning, energy output is decreasing!"
"What’s happening?" Upon hearing the warning, everyone’s heart skipped a beat.
At this moment, all the instruments showed abnormal data.
"The high-temperature plasma is rapidly decreasing!"
"Fusion is about to stop!"
A few seconds later, Duan Bingzhen looked at the instrument showing zero energy output and spoke with a heavy tone: "The fusion reaction has stopped!"
Everyone’s heart sank; they had thought this attempt would be more successful than any previous ones, yet the fusion reaction had stopped!
The entire control center fell into a brief silence.
They had been immersed in anticipation and joy, but with the extinguishing of the artificial sun, their hopes plummeted.
"What exactly is the problem?" Kong Qing asked, "Throughout the process, all the instruments showed normal!"
The AI system replied: "The spherical Tokamak device has no abnormalities, instruments are normal."
Upon hearing the AI system’s words, everyone felt a chill run through them; if the equipment was fine, did it mean there was a flaw in their design?
They would rather it be another issue, for if it’s a design flaw, perhaps a whole line of thought was wrong!
"At least this time, we broke previous discharge records," Zhang Boyan comforted, "Recheck the plan, and we should find the issue."
"Yes, after all, controlled nuclear fusion is the most crucial technology for human civilization entering a new era. Good things take time," Dong Chen remarked.
"With such progress this time, we will soon perfect the plan!" Cai Hao said.
No one else spoke; they knew the progress was significant. But time doesn’t wait for anyone, and the Nuclear Giant Beast frequently moves around them, attacking Shen Zhou was only a matter of time!
Everyone looked at He Xingzhou, his expression was quite calm, and He Xingzhou said: "This experiment has been an unprecedented breakthrough."
"I believe the device, design ideas—all these are fine; we’ve overlooked a detail! Once we find it, we can truly break through controlled nuclear fusion technology!"
"Yes, Dr. He is right, let’s gear up, and keep working!" everyone responded, "Right now, immediately cool the reaction device, aim to find the issue within the shortest time!"
Outside, the media also noticed the anomaly.
"Fusion reaction has stopped!"
"This time it wasn’t successful!" They looked at each other, thinking it was going to be news that changes human civilization, only to find out it failed!
A researcher spoke: "Dear media friends, although we couldn’t achieve stable controlled nuclear fusion this time, we’ve surpassed any previous attempt. We believe we will soon overcome the final issue."
The media could only report this way, but to the public, this message wasn’t very comforting.
"Controlled nuclear fusion experiment couldn’t maintain stability!"
"Discharge effect stopped after an hour!"
"What a pity, may they succeed soon!"
"@Planet Builder, Hang in there, Academician He!"
People were cheering for them, but everyone had a bit of unease in their hearts.
They had already witnessed the horror of the Nuclear Giant Beasts; even hydrogen bombs might not kill them.
If humanity gets stuck on the controlled nuclear fusion technology, then the extinction of human civilization wouldn’t be far away!
He Xingzhou was also searching for the source of the problem, analyzing every piece of data, pondering intensely.
Tianzhu, Ganges River basin, a large shelter.
This vast region with numerous inhabitants couldn’t resist the Zerg invasion in the Catastrophe Era.
Zerg invaded from the ocean, advanced into continental land, leaving destruction, creating a living hell on earth.
In the shelter, people were fighting arduously for survival, facing hunger, disease, and assaults from marauders.
Outside the shelter, Zerg attacked and gathered daily.
In a section of the camp, a man stood in the middle of the street, blocking all entry and exit of vehicles.
Survivors quickly recognized him, "Jai Ba, you murderer, you dare to show up?"
During one Zerg invasion, this man took advantage of the chaos to kill and loot; the chaos allowed him to flee.
People surrounded him, shouting: "Catch him, kill the murderer!"
"Get away from me!" Jai Ba grabbed a small truck beside him, astonishingly lifted it single-handedly and smashed it onto a man nearby.
Only then did they notice, under his sleeves weren’t hands but claws like those of the Zerg!
"He’s an Insect Man; he’s become an Insect Man!" People retreated in fear.
An Insect Man is a human who mutated after being infected with Zerg genes. Consuming Zerg flesh often leads to this.
Shen Zhou, with its food safety secure, naturally didn’t experience such occurrences. But globally, the appearance of Insect Men had become very frequent.
Most of them devolved into mutated beasts, losing human emotions and rationality. But a small number retained their original memories and thoughts.
Jai Ba laughed wildly, rushed into the crowd, locked a noble’s throat tight, leapt onto the rooftop, and shouted: "You hopelessly foolish bunch."